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B−History
History · Rockledge

Rockledge’s post office opened in 1876, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #65 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them three historic districts with 195 buildings between them. Most of Rockledge was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1990. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1920.

1876first post office
3on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
10famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Rockledge’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Rockledge began

When was Rockledge founded?

1876

The Rockledge post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.

First census: 453 in 19202020 census: 27,678150 years

How historic is Rockledge?

B−

More historic than 52% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Rockledge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Rockledge’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Rockledge is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #65 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Rockledge’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.2% of homes (±2.2) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 195 historic buildings, 66.9 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 52%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 90%

Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Rockledge’s 66.9 sits above most of its state (93% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 195 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1887 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Rockledge’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Rockledge Drive Residential District takes in 100 historic buildings.A town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers, 1875–1898.Famous sons and daughtersCarrot Top, Tammy Lynn Leppert and 8 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 195 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
195
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Barton Avenue Residential District
Barton Avenue Residential DistrictRockledge Drive Residential DistrictValencia Subdivision Residential District
Districts

Architectural styles listings

Wood Frame Vernacular2
Queen Anne2
Bungalow2
Mediterranean Revival1
Barton Avenue Residential DistrictWood Frame Vernacular
Rockledge Drive Residential DistrictWood Frame Vernacular
Valencia Subdivision Residential DistrictMediterranean Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Rockledge, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1880s7 items
Indian River at Rockledgec. 1875Indian River at RockledgeIndian River at Rockledgec. 1875Indian River at RockledgeTropical House, Rockledgec. 1880Tropical House, RockledgeTropical House, Rockledgec. 1880Tropical House, RockledgeView on Indian River, Rockledgec. 1880View on Indian River, RockledgeView on Indian River, Rockledgec. 1880View on Indian River, RockledgeRoad near Rockledge1880Road near Rockledge
1890s11 items
Florida, orange tree1892Florida, orange treeFlorida, ripe orange1892Florida, ripe orangeFlorida, a fallen monarch1892Florida, a fallen monarchFlorida, Avenue of orange tress1892Florida, Avenue of orange tressBunch of Indian River oranges1895Bunch of Indian River orangesDetroit Photographic Company (0275) (cropped)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0275) (cropped)Detroit Photographic Company (0275)1897–1924Detroit Photographic Company (0275)Indian River oranges1897Indian River orangesBunch of Indian River oranges1897Bunch of Indian River orangesIndian River oranges1897Indian River orangesAlong Indian River, Rockledge, Fla1898Along Indian River, Rockledge, Fla
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Famous people

10 famous people were born in Rockledge

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Carrot TopAmerican stand-up comedian · b. 1965
T
Tammy Lynn LeppertAmerican actress and model · b. 1965
Robert "RJ" ScaringeAmerican engineer and entrepreneur · b. 1983
M
Melissa WitekAmerican model · b. 1981
A
Antoine GreenAmerican football player · b. 1999
DeLane MatthewsAmerican actress · b. 1961
The story

How Rockledge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Rockledge.

Read it all →

Rockledge was officially founded on August 7, 1887, making it the oldest incorporated municipality in Brevard County. The name Rockledge, attributed to Gardner S. Hardee, an early settler, comes from the many ledges of coquina rock that line the Indian River. Other sources refer to a man named Cephas Bailey Magruder, who built his home after settling in the area in 1876 near the Indian River. Magruder called his home "the rockledge home" and the name was eventually attributed to the whole town. It was originally referred to as Rock Ledge; the two-word name persisted through the 19th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Rockledge, 1875 to 1983

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875In the archiveIndian River at Rockledge
  3. 1876Post officeThe Rockledge post office opens
  4. 1880In the archiveTropical House, Rockledge
  5. 1892In the archiveFlorida, orange tree
  6. 20th century
  7. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1965Born hereCarrot Top is born here
  9. 1965Born hereTammy Lynn Leppert is born here
  10. 1981Born hereMelissa Witek is born here
  11. 1983Born hereRobert "RJ" Scaringe is born here
On the map

Rockledge on the map, 1949 to 1971

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Rockledge. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Rockledge on the 1949 USGS mapRockledge on the 1951 USGS mapRockledge on the 1971 USGS map1949Cocoa sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Rockledge.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Indian River at Rockledge
Retake this viewIndian River at Rockledge, c. 1875

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Rockledge’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Rockledge, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00019201940196019802000202027,678

Grew from 453 people in 1920 to 27,678 in 2020, more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Rockledge’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Rockledge’s post office has been open since 1876.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Indian Oaks Trailer Park

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Rockledge’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIndian River at Rockledge: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Viera EastIts storyDCocoa4 historic placesC+Cocoa WestIts storyDMerritt Island2 historic placesC−

Questions about Rockledge’s history

What year was Rockledge founded?

The Rockledge post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.

How does Rockledge rank for history?

Rockledge is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #65 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Rockledge?

Three places: the Barton Avenue Residential District (listed 1992), the Rockledge Drive Residential District (1992) and the Valencia Subdivision Residential District (1992).

How old are the homes in Rockledge?

3% of Rockledge’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.2 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1990.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.